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Walt Whitman to Hannah Whitman Heyde, 8 September 1891

About This Item

  • Title: Walt Whitman to Hannah Whitman Heyde, 8 September 1891
  • Date: September 8, 1891
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: loc.04797
  • Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Contributors to digital file: Lauren Davila Maire Mullins Brandon James O'Neil Zainab Saleh Stephanie Blalock
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Walt Whitman to Hannah Whitman Heyde, 8 September 1891." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 26 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: loc.04797.xml (TEI)
 loc_ad.00181_large.jpg Camden1 Sept:​ 8 '91 Dear sister

Nothing very different—am ab't​ same—eat my meals—was out Friday afternoon an hour ride to cemetery—my friends Dr Bucke2 Mrs. O Connor3 and Horace Traubel4 & his wife5 with me—it is my design to gather the remains of our dear mother & father6 & have them buried there too, in the tomb I have had built for myself7—cloudy wet day—$2 enc'd​ — I sent letter same8 ab't​ week ago9—many visitors—best love to you sister dear

W W  loc_ad.00182_large.jpg

Correspondent:
Hannah Louisa Whitman Heyde (1823–1908) was the fourth child of Walter and Louisa Whitman and Walt Whitman's youngest sister. Hannah was named for her paternal grandmother, Hannah Brush Whitman (1753–1834), and her mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman (1795–1873). Although Walt Whitman had a close relationship with his younger brother Jeff Whitman, Hannah was his favorite, most beloved sibling. Until she married, Hannah lived at home with her parents and her brothers. Educated at the Hempstead Academy, Hannah taught school in rural Long Island. On March 23, 1852, Hannah married Charles Louis Heyde (ca. 1820–1892), a landscape painter. It is possible that Walt introduced Hannah to Charles. In August 1852 the Heydes departed for Vermont. The first decade of their marriage was marked by constant moving from boarding houses to hotels, mostly in rural Vermont, as Heyde sought out vantage points for his landscape paintings. In 1864 the Heydes settled in Burlington, purchasing a house on Pearl Street. After Hannah's marriage and relocation to Vermont, Mother Whitman became Hannah's faithful correspondent; Walt also kept in touch, sending letters and editions of Leaves of Grass after publication. Hannah faced several health crises during her marriage, partly due to the ongoing trauma of emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner violence that she experienced. In the 1880s and 1890s Heyde increasingly had difficulty earning enough to cover household expenses; in addition, he may have become an alcoholic. He repeatedly asked Whitman for funds to cover their expenses. Whitman sent both Heyde and Hannah small amounts of money. After Heyde died in 1892, Hannah remained in Burlington, living in their house on Pearl Street until her death in 1908. For more information, see Paula K. Garrett, "Whitman (Heyde), Hannah Louisa (d. 1908)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).

Notes

  • 1. In March 1884, Whitman purchased a house at 328 Mickle Street in Camden, New Jersey. He would live in this house until his death on March 26, 1892. [back]
  • 2. Richard Maurice Bucke (1837–1901), a Canadian physician and psychiatrist, was the Head of the Asylum for the Insane in Ontario, Canada, and a close friend of Whitman. In 1867, Bucke read Whitman's poetry for the first time and became a devoted follower; he visited Whitman in Camden in 1877. Bucke became the poet's first biographer with Walt Whitman (Philadelphia: David McKay, 1883) and was one of Whitman's literary executors after Whitman's death in 1892. Bucke also provided a date (usually the year) for many of Hannah's letters to Whitman. For more information, see Howard Nelson, "Bucke, Richard Maurice (1837–1901)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 3. Ellen M. "Nelly" O'Connor (1830–1913) was the wife of William D. O'Connor (1832–1889), one of Whitman's staunchest defenders. Before marrying William, Ellen Tarr was active in the antislavery and women's rights movements as a contributor to the Liberator and to a women's rights newspaper Una. Whitman dined with the O'Connors frequently during his Washington years. Though Whitman and William O'Connor would temporarily break off their friendship in late 1872 over Reconstruction policies with regard to emancipated African Americans, Ellen would remain friendly with Whitman. The correspondence between Whitman and Ellen is almost as voluminous as the poet's correspondence with William. Three years after William O'Connor's death, Ellen married the Providence businessman Albert Calder. For more on Whitman's relationship with the O'Connors, see Dashae E. Lott, "O'Connor, William Douglas [1832–1889]" and Lott's "O'Connor (Calder), Ellen ('Nelly') M. Tarr (1830–1913)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 4. Horace Traubel (1858–1919), Walt Whitman's literary biographer and author of With Walt Whitman in Camden (nine volumes), visited Whitman almost daily after 1885 and began transcribing their conversations beginning in 1888. After Whitman's death in 1892, he also served as one of Whitman's literary executors. For more information, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. (1858–1919)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 5. Horace Traubel was married to Anne Montgomerie Traubel (b. 1864–1954). [back]
  • 6. Walter Whitman, Sr. (1789–1855) married Louisa Van Velsor in 1816. Together they had nine children, the second of whom was his namesake and future poet, Walt Jr. Well-connected and politically radical, Walter's personality was rigid and stern, a temperament that alienated his poet son. For more on Walter Sr. and his relationship with his son, see "Whitman, Walter, Sr. (1789–1855)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
  • 7. Whitman's tomb, located in Harleigh Cemetery, New Jersey, contains the remains of his mother and father, Whitman, Hannah, George and Louisa, and Edward. Gay Wilson Allen notes, "He [Whitman] knew that if Leaves of Grass lived – and he thought it might – his tomb would become a shrine, as it has"(The Solitary Singer: A Critical Biography of Walt Whitman [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985], 540). [back]
  • 8. Whitman is referring to the letter he sent to Hannah on September 1, 1891. [back]
  • 9. Charles Louis Heyde, Hannah's husband, at times opened Hannah's mail, read her letters, and extracted the funds that the Whitman family sent to her. Whitman was aware of Heyde's surveillance. [back]
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